9 execs and entrepreneurs share the inspirational quotes that changed their lives for the better

Source: Vsoftsystems, 10/09/2018

1. `Success is going from failure to failure without losing your
enthusiasm.`
This quote speaks to the one trait all successful entrepreneurs share:
the ability to pivot when things go wrong. High achievers don`t break
their stride, even when failure is staring them right in the face;
instead, they realize their setback only brings them one step closer
to accomplishing their ultimate goal. All my best successes have come
on the back of my greatest failures.
2. `Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill
your enemies.`
When I read this quote many years ago, I`d spent too much energy
resenting someone who`d rewarded my many years of generosity with
betrayal. It was constantly on my mind, and I had a hard time getting
over it. Then, I figured if Nelson Mandela [to whom this quote is
commonly attributed] could spend 27 years in prison and not hate his
enemies, I could do the same.
3. `Success is failure turned inside out.`
I keep this anonymous quote framed on the wall in my office. It`s a
daily reminder to embrace failure instead of fearing it. Success is
the inverse of failure, not the lack of it. You succeed when you take
on an obstacle, and you flip it. First, you have to embrace the
obstacle, though. Sadly, most people are plain afraid to fail, so they
never leave their comfort zones or attempt something challenging.
Other people get so stuck in their past mistakes that they can`t learn
from them.
Failure is a tremendous teacher. It encourages better thinking and
forces you to look back and ask, `What went wrong?` It also shapes you
as a person; it makes you resilient. It educates you in ways success
simply can`t.
4. `The secret of getting ahead is getting started.`
We`re living in a perpetual state of information overload. Be it the
14,000-plus advertising messages blitzed at us every day, or the
incessant dings of email and social media, our attention is in
constant demand. While simple, this quote reminds me to cut through
the noise and do whatever it takes to begin the process of realising
my greatest goals. This could be as basic as whiteboarding an idea or
running a sample Facebook ad to test a sales hypothesis.
There`s immense power in just getting started. I often counsel my team
and the CEOs that I mentor with this phrase: `Action drives momentum,
momentum drives results.` So the next time you feel stuck, push
yourself to take the first step. The magic of momentum will work for you!
5. `You don`t know what you don`t know.`
This phrase seems overly simplistic, but when applied to business, it
helps you to take greater risks and avoid false assumptions. With
marketing, there will always be new software, platforms, and trends
that my team and I are not familiar with. We make it a priority to
continually educate ourselves.
For example, millennials currently make up 70% of all Snapchat users,
so I forced myself to learn more about the platform to understand its
marketing potential for our clients. If you`ve settled into a comfort
zone of knowledge, it`s time to broaden your horizons. When you accept
the fact that `you don`t know what you don`t know,` you can attain the
valuable information you didn`t even know you were missing.
6. `You don`t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you
bring to the hour.`
This Jim Rohn quote has been game-changing for me. I was fortunate
enough to hear Rohn speak for the first time at a live event in
Atlanta during my early twenties. I was a young, budding real estate
professional who wanted to strike it rich but didn`t quite know how.
This quote continues to be a reminder that success is always a
reflection of the value you provide. Ultimately, you don`t get paid
for the hour, or the job, or the project, or the deal. You get paid
for the value you bring. If you want to earn more money, or you want
your company to make more money â€` heck, if you want almost anything â€`
all you have to do is provide enough value to get it!
7. `Relationships are leverage. If you give value to someone else
first, you have leverage.`
This Gary Vaynerchuk quote has inspired me to lead our companies to
the next level by leveraging relationships. When you`re the one to
give first in a relationship, you quickly build rapport. One way to do
this is to offer a sweetheart deal to an important prospect or
strategic partner. Another is to connect people in your industry when
there`s a mutually beneficial match. Your network will quickly take
notice of your actions and word will spread to their networks,
possibly leading to endless opportunities.
The key to this strategy lies in not expecting anything in return for
the value you provide. I`ve done many more favours than I`ve received,
but the favours that circle back end up being worth exponentially more
than I ever imagined.
8. `Burn the ships.`
This saying dates back to 1519 when the Spanish conquistador Hernán
Cortés arrived in Mexico. He brought with him 500 soldiers and, upon
arrival, made history by destroying his ships. This sent a clear
message to his men: There was no turning back.
Two years later, he succeeded in his conquest of the Aztec empire. The
idea behind `burn the ships` is the same as `succeed or die.` Your
outcome is always based on your level of commitment to achieve great
things. This doesn`t mean you can`t ever change course or decide that
a current pursuit isn`t working. However, by leaving the ships in the
harbour, your people will see that you`re not fully committed to the
transition. If you`re not fully committed, why should they be? By
removing any available path back to the previous way, your team will
become as fully invested as you.
Look inside yourself and see where you`re struggling to commit. Is it
because the ships are still in the harbour? Burn `em. Force
commitment. Watch what happens.
9. `If you`re going through hell, keep going.`
This quote has been tremendously impactful for my clients and me. I
meet most of my clients when they are going through the worst time of
their lives. They`re either in jail or recently bailed out and facing
criminal charges. As a criminal defense attorney, it`s my job not only
to fight the charges, but to also walk with them through hell.
What I`ve come to know is that life is a full-contact, beautiful and
brutal sport where nobody gets out alive. At the beginning of a
crisis, it inevitably feels like there`s no way out. But if you can
summon the energy to put one foot in front of the other, and keep
going, eventually you will find a solution.